Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the electrochemical treatment of blades of a turbomachine, especially of an aircraft engine, and also to an electrode array for carrying out an electrochemical machining.
Discussion of Background Information
Electrochemical machining (ECM) is known for the machining of electrically conductive components and is used in the field of aircraft engine production for machining the engine blades.
Described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,093 A, for example, is an electrode array for the electrochemical machining of blades in which two sub-electrodes are movable in relation to each other in order to form the contour of the surface to be machined by means of the sub-electrodes. However, gaps are created by the sub-electrodes in the working surface of the electrodes in relation to the surface to be machined, or mutual influences are created by the sub-electrodes and lead to unevenness in the surface to be machined so that overall the proposed solution does not lead to uniformly machined surfaces and is therefore unsuitable for the machining of engine blades.
An electrode array is also known from WO 2006 137 525 A1, in which for each surface to be machined provision is made for two electrodes which are movable in relation to each other so that intricate contours can also be machined by the electrode array. However, the sub-electrodes which are movable in relation to each other are arranged so that they have to be moved in a defined sequence so that for a considerable machining time period different conditions exist for the electrochemical machining, which in turn leads to an uneven eroding action on the surface to be machined and irregularities in the machined surface.